Texas Football: Longhorns make emphatic Sugar Bowl statement

1. Texas made an emphatic statement

Texas spent the last month after losing the Big 12 Championship to Oklahoma listening to the doubters, the naysayers who said they didn’t belong in the Sugar Bowl. Most outside of Austin didn’t believe the Longhorns belonged on the same field as a mighty SEC power like Georgia.

The Bulldogs were installed as a two-touchdown favorite, with an assured Georgia win sitting atop most bowl confidence pools.

Texas refused to believe that they didn’t belong in this game, consistently looking like the more psychically dominant team, bullying and out-muscling a team that is used to turning their foes upside down and shaking quarters from the depths of their jean pockets.

The lack of faith in the Longhorns was due to an erratic season in Austin in Tom Herman’s second year at the helm. Texas proved they could play with anyone throughout the season, including an upset win over Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry in Dallas in October. They acquitted themselves nicely against the playoff-bound Sooners in the Big 12 Championship rematch, too, ultimately succumbing by 12.

Texas also earned an impressive two-touchdown win over Iowa State, which clinched their place in Dallas on the first weekend of December.

But the ‘Horns battled inconsistency throughout 2018. That same team that defeated Oklahoma also lost a season opening game to bowl-less Maryland, and earned uninspired single score wins over three other bowl-less teams: Tulsa, Kansas State, and Texas Tech.

They were one of college football’s biggest enigmas. On Tuesday night in New Orleans, they realized their full potential, and signaled to the college football world that Texas is indeed, at long last, back.

The win over Georgia gave Texas their first 10-win season since 2009, the year they were last nationally relevant. It’s been a long near-decade long odyssey to get here spanning three head coaches. But they’re finally here, with Tom Herman doing what he was hired to do two years ago: make Texas relevant on a national stage once again.

There’s still work to be done for Texas to be Texas again, as 10-4 is still not the benchmark for success in Austin. More will be expected in the immediate future, with this Sugar Bowl win leading to heightened expectations in 2019.

Even with some key pieces departing, the return of Ehlinger at QB is reason enough for optimism, with the sophomore QB proving to be one of the nation’s best at the position, this game serving as his coming out party for those who weren’t already on the bandwagon.

With Ehlinger back, Texas will be one of the preseason favorites to win the Big 12, with a conference title, and ultimately a berth in the College Football Playoff, being the next step in their climb back up the college football ladder.